Multidisciplinary Team

MDT, or a Multidisciplinary Team, is a team of professionals who partner together across multiple agencies from Child Advocacy Centers, the Department of Human Services, law enforcement, medical service providers, etc. to bring justice and healing to children and families affected by child abuse. Before the creation of MDTs, the United States’ response to child abuse was unorganized among the various agencies responsible for leading the initial investigation into child abuse. MDTs were developed to improve coordination, identifying that in order to effectively respond to child abuse, a multi-partner team was essential, and that the various entities responsible for the protection of children must join together, acknowledging that no single agency on its own could guarantee the safety of children. Only by working as a team can our community agencies successfully respond to child abuse. This is how Columbia County has been working to intervene and prevent child abuse since establishing the Amani Center in 2000.